The general methods for collecting human saliva has been reviewed in the American Journal of Otolaryngology, volume 4, p. 288, 1983 by Navazesh and Ship.
An apparatus for collecting saliva comprising a container with a threaded open end and a conical closed end, a threaded funnel for sometime use on the open end or a threaded cap to seal such, and a base for holding the closed conical end has been disclosed by Fay in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,548 issued May 20, 1986.
An apparatus for sequentially collecting saliva in a flavored absorbent, masticated sponge and then pressing the sample out with a piston plunger through a small hole, through which the sponge cannot pass but the sample can, was shown Apr. 8, 1986 by O'Brien et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,577.
A specimen collection and transport system was disclosed by Schlesinger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,498. The system comprises a specimen receptacle having a closed bottom and an open top, a conduit to the receptacle, a base to hold the conical closed end, and a protective covering so that the specimen can be transported.
A collection apparatus for saliva is shown by Andelin et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,164. This apparatus also has a receptacle closed at one end and open at the other, a funnel and discharge tube leading to the receptacle, a funnel cover, an outer protective body also functioning as a support, and a threaded cap.